Moving Forward
by Dawnstorm101
Summary: THOR RAGNAROK SPOILERS AHEAD. Loki and Thor have finally reunited, and they love it. However, there's a lot of emotional baggage to work through. Together, they talk through it.


A/N: I'm, like, 90% Lokyrie feels right now, but most of the fanvids I've been watching are Thor and Loki, so naturally I'm drowning in feels for those two as well. Also I've written 10 chapters of Lokyrie since seeing Ragnarok for the first time, but only one Thor and Loki fic - 'twas time for another. And thus, this was born.

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It was the middle of the night and the ship was quiet, hardly a soul stirring throughout it. It was peaceful. But, as had become the norm over the last few years, Loki found that he couldn't sleep. So, as had also become the norm, he took to wandering, his magic hiding him from potential prying eyes. But now, unlike on Asgard, the corridors he strolled through brought no memories. He couldn't peek into a room and remember magic lessons with Mother; he couldn't pause by the kitchen and remember teaming up with Thor to steal food; he couldn't lean over a balcony and remember sabotaging the Warriors Three's training sessions.

These dull metal walls may have saved the Asgardians, but they held no comfort. They only seemed to mock him. "What are _you_ looking for?" they seemed to ask. "All the memories _you_ ruined?"

Loki ducked his head and kept walking.

"Brother?"

Loki jumped, turning on his heel to see Thor looking at him quizzically. "Uh, hello Thor," he greeted, silently cursing as he realized his magic must've slipped away while he was buried in his thoughts.

Thor chuckled a little. "Surprised to see me?"

Loki crossed his arms defensively. "More surprised that you can see me."

Thor's amused chuckle faded. "You're never so distracted that your magic stops working. Not unless you're dying." Horror flashed across his face. "You're not-"

"No," Loki assured him quickly. "I'm fine. Physically."

His shoulders sagged in relief. "Good. I'm not… I'm not ready to lose you."

Loki smiled a little, dropping his gaze. "That's good to know," he admitted quietly.

Thor rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. "I will never be ready to lose you, brother. Never. If you believe only one thing I say, believe that."

Loki lifted his gaze, relieved to see nothing but sincerity in Thor's eye. He nodded. "I'll remember that."

Thor smiled, lifting his hand to cup Loki's face just like he used to do. He lingered for a moment, as if still savoring the idea that Loki was actually there, and Loki took the opportunity to lean into the contact. Gods, he had missed his brother.

Then Thor pulled away, his expression turning serious. "So what's bothering you?"

Loki tensed, clasping his hands behind his back. "What do you mean?" he tried to ask innocently.

Thor saw right through it. "You know what I mean, Loki."

"Open communication still isn't something our family is very good at," Loki pointed out.

"It should be," Thor countered. "And that can start here and now."

Loki sighed. "Maybe you're right."

"Ooh, how much effort did that take?" Thor teased.

Loki pursed his lips. "Stop ruining the moment, Thor."

He cleared his throat, not looking at all sorry. "Right, serious conversation. What's bothering you?"

Loki just looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I'm listening," Thor promised, putting his hand back on Loki's shoulder. "I care."

Loki bit his lip, looking away from his brother again. "Did they hate me? Our parents?"

"No!" Thor exclaimed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. When Loki remained doubtfully silent, he elaborated. "Loki, our parents could never hate you. They were disappointed, especially Father, and he was angry, but they felt that way because they _loved_ you. You know only half of how hard Mother fought for you, and part of Father's anger was directed at himself for not telling you sooner. As much as they loved me, Loki, that's how much they loved you."

Loki felt tears trying to fall, and he clenched his eyes shut to stop them. "Really?" he checked, his voice tiny.

"Oh, Loki," Thor murmured. He stepped forward and pulled Loki against him, one arm holding him close and the other hand resting on his hair. "Nothing you do can make us love you any less. Do you think they wouldn't be ecstatic at your change of heart? Do you think- _Oh_."

Thor's grip suddenly tightened. "I told you Father's death was your fault," he remembered. "I- Gods, that's not true, Loki."

Loki pushed roughly away from him. "Isn't it?" he spat. "I banished him. I stole him away from his last reasons for living. And Mother? _I_ told Kurse how to escape the dungeon. _I_ led him and Malekith right to her. If I hadn't gotten it into my thick head-"

"No," Thor cut him off, pointing a stern finger at him. "Listen to me, brother. Father was thousands of years old – even if he had remained on Asgard, his time was short. And we both know that Kurse would've fought his way out of that dungeon eventually, and found Mother, and _nothing_ would've stopped her from protecting Jane. Mother died a warrior, and Father died a long-lived man, and there is nothing, _absolutely nothing,_ that you could've done differently to save either one."

"I could've been at Mother's side," Loki shot back, magic sparking in uncoordinated spurts between his fingers. "I could've been there to protect her."

"And in all likelihood, you would've been killed too," Thor pointed out. "As much as I may tease you for depending on your magic in battle, I know it's because that's where your skill lies. You're the smart one, Loki, not the brawn, just as Mother was with Father. The two of us against Kurse only worked because you had the time and space to set that bomb without him noticing, but anything like that wouldn't have worked in such close quarters. Kurse and Malekith would've torn through both of you, and you know it."

"Then so be it," Loki snapped. "What if I'm better off dead? I can't hurt anyone that way."

"No," Thor said, his voice wobbling. "No, no, no. You are needed, Loki, alive and well. Asgard needs its prince. _I need my baby brother_."

"Really? You seemed to get along fine these last few years."

"Do you really think it didn't hurt?" Thor demanded. "Those missions I was on, both with the Avengers and by myself – _we_ used to do that type of thing. It was the two of us against whatever the universe could throw at us, Loki, for a thousand years. Do you really think I didn't spend every single day missing you? Wishing I could joke with you? Wishing you were fighting at my side? I love my human friends, and I'll miss them when they're gone, but you're different. None of them grew up at my side, creating a reign of terror with our shenanigans."

Thor caught Loki's hands, heedless of his uncontrolled magic. "I love you, Loki, in a way I can never love anyone else. And losing you… it was devastating. Both times. Even that first time, when we still had both parents and our proper kingdom, it was agony. Going through it again, especially with our kingdom in its current situation… I can't."

Loki's chest was heaving, and he couldn't tell if the tears on his face were from pain or guilt or anger or all of the above, and he wanted to pull away from Thor, but he couldn't make himself move.

And then Thor was pulling him close again, his grip tight and protective. "You've made egregious errors, Loki, but none of them killed our parents, and never, _never,_ not even for a second, think that any of them make me love you less. All I care about is that you're here now, and ready to be the hero we all need. Understood?"

Loki found himself hugging back, clutching fistfuls of Thor's cape and hiding his face in Thor's shoulder. "Understood," he rasped. "I love you, too."

Thor held him close. "You're home, brother. You're home."

Loki nodded, and for a while, the brothers just held onto each other, letting go of their grief and guilt to just savor their rediscovered closeness.

Then Loki mumbled, "Is this a good time to mention I can't breathe?"

"Whoops, sorry," Thor said, quickly releasing him. Loki waved him off, coughing a little and rubbing his ribs. Thor put a steadying hand on his back, patting a little.

"I'm good," Loki said after a moment, coughing one last time. "I'm good."

"Hi, Good. I'm Hungry," Thor joked.

Loki rolled his eyes. "I take it back. I take it all back."

Thor just clapped him on the back and led him forward. "But seriously, I'm hungry. Where's the food on this ship?"

"Probably near the drinks Valkyrie already found," Loki guessed. "This way."

"Race you," Thor challenged, breaking into a run.

"You don't even know- Hey!" Loki protested, taking off after him. He threw out of bolt of magic, making his brother stumble, and he darted past.

"Cheater!" Thor accused through laughter.

"Cheater and proud," Loki tossed over his shoulder, racing shamelessly onwards with a smirk on his face.

Thor's footsteps pounded after him, and for a few hours, the brothers just played, more carefree than they'd been in years.

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A/N: For readers of my Lokyrie fic - I'll be back, promise. Just had to get this out of my system first.

And if anyone wants to know a great song for these two, try Brother by Kodaline. And the fanvid for these two to that song by DarthxErik. It's _perfect_ for these two.


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